If Zitao thought that Luhan and Yixing looked  good in leather jackets, he was in for quite a surprise when he realized just how y Yifan could be.

 

His jaw nearly dropped as he saw the tall blonde open up the door of his cherry red Ferrari, donning a matching red leather jacket, and sinfully tight black leather jeans. Part of him wanted to jump on the older boy and claim him as his own, and part of him wanted to kill the blonde for looking so good. He was torn.

 

"Stop staring losers." Kris snarled, locking and setting the alarm on his car before tossing the keys into his backpack.

 

Zitao was in a daze, unable to comprehend what was being said until I came and smacked him in the back if the head.

 

"I said stop staring. Damn, you're worse than air-headed, Xing." Kris frowned, smacking Tao upside the head as he walked off, Luhan trailing closely behind him. 

 

"Don't worry, he doesn't mean it." Yixing said sweetly from Zitao's right side, his hands folded politely behind his back. Zitao couldn't help but feel sorry for the older boy.

 

"You don't have to let him talk about you like that, Yixing." He said softly as the two of them set off to follow the older boys. The dancer shook his head with a sheepish smile.

 

"He's right though, I am kind of an air-head." 

 

"Oh come on, there's got to be sometime you're good at." The martial artist mused, adjusting the strap of his backpack.

 

"I can put my whole fist in my mouth, wanna see?"

 

"Uh, no. Maybe some other time."

 

---

 

The moment Zitao sat down in his English class, he was bombarded with questions.

 

"What'd the Ken doll say?" Baekhyun questioned, scooting to the edge of his seat to be closer to the younger boy.

 

"Nothing. He called me a loser and an airhead.. But he looks amazing.." Came his dazed reply as he propped his chin up with his hand.

 

"WHAT!?" Baekhyun exclaimed a bit louder than intended as he watched the Chinese boy stare off blankly into space.

 

Chen cackled like a mad-man behind Baekhyun, clutching his sides and he doubled over, his head resting on the desk, "Oh my god Baek; your little experiment backfired, Peach likes Kris."

 

"Maybe he's just being polite.." Xiumin shrugged, before also facing Zitao who seemed to be daydreaming in his own little world. "I mean.. He can't possibly be vain enough to simply like Yifan for his appearance; can he?"

 

"Zitao, you do not like Kris Wu!" Baekhyun hissed through his teeth, as the aforementioned teenager turned to face him, face void of all emotion.

 

"I don't, damn!" 

 

"Good." Baekhyun replied with a curt nod.

 

"Has he said anything juicy yet?" Chen asked as he scribbled away at the pages in his text book, leaving behind little comments and drawing mustaches on people's faces.

 

"Just that they're going to do some kind of dance performance at the winter talent show to this song, I forgot the name." Zitao replied, body completely turned to face Baekhyun, because honestly, who needed to pay attention in English?

 

"Christmas Day." The trio of misfits replied in unison, rolling their eyes.

 

"They do that every year." Xiumin sighed, also uninterested in the lesson, opting to use his hand phone to surf the internet.

 

"Well now they want me to do it with them." Tao shrugged, crossing one leg over the other.

 

"Hey, Baek, does it bother you that they still use your original outfi--" Chen began, only to shut up when he was violently nudged by boy with perfect eyeliner.

 

"No it does not, Jongdae, now shut your trap." Baekhyun growled before turning his attention back to Zitao, who looked on at their little display curiously, "Look, do whatever they want you to do. We just need to find a way to find out something that will ruin, Kris." 

 

 

Baekhyun and Chen looked at the elder boy, intrigued by his mention of the doe-eyed beauty.

 

"Luhan is Yifan's right hand man. Crack Luhan, you crack the lock on Yifan's whole dirty past." Xiumin explained, eyes never leaving the device's touch screen.

 

"Say crack again." Chen grinned childishly.

 

"Crack."

 

Baekhyun grinned maniacally once again, thrilled that Xiumin had given him a completely new perspective on his whole plan.

 

"Hey, Zitao.. Come here~" Baekhyun cooed, waving the younger closer to him. Zitao frowned and leaned in regardless, bending himself out the side of his desk to listen to the older boy's words. Xiumin and Chen crowded into the huddle as well, more than interested in the plan the group's resident diva had in mind. "We're going to use three candy grams to crack Lu Han."

 

"How?" Zitao asked completely lost as to how candy would drive the doe-eyed blonde to start spewing out information.

 

"You'll see young, Taozi, you'll see." Baekhyun smirked, if you listened well enough the other boys could almost swear they heard maniacal laughter coming from deep within his throat as the bell rang.

 

---

 

Lunch with the China Line was like Zitao had left his normal teenage life and enter some sort of perfect fantasy. Everything about them was fabulous. From the way they ate, spoke, drank -- hell even the way they mocked people was perfect. Zitao couldn't help but find himself being more drawn to Kris. Something about the blonde with the perpetual scowl had him itching to spend more time with him. 

 

"Xing, what're you eating?" Kris questioned, breaking the almost awkward silence that had fallen upon the group.

 

"Oh.. uh, me?" Came the almost sheepish reply as the dancer raised up his half-eaten cup of microwaved mac and cheese. "This."

 

"Give it here." 

 

"What-- why?" Now it wasn't quite like Yixing to question anything the other told him, but this was his food they were talking about. His food. 

 

"I'm trying to eat half of what I usually eat. You've already eaten half, so quit being greedy and give it here." Kris scowled, holding his had out. "Here, you can have this." He adds in after reaching out in front of him, promptly grabbing Zitao's string cheese. 

 

Yixing looked a bit sullen as he considered handing over the microwaved cup of noodles before the elder boy grew exasperated, tossing the cheese stick on the table, muttering under his breath as he stood to walk off. Something along the lines of not needing the 'stale macaroni' and going to buy a corndog. 

 

Noticing the tense air as their self-chosen leader walked off Luhan decides to brighten up the mood by opening his mouth, always a good idea in his opinion. 

 

"We're going shopping after school, Tao! You should definitely come with us! Right Xing? He should totally come! Like, totally!" He chirps and Zitao mentally wonders if the peroxide had seeped into Luhan's brain during his last dye job. 

 

"Mhm.. Totally." Yixing replies as excited as he can muster with a mouth full of food, quickly flashing a thumbs up to further show his support for his friend's idea. 

 

Luhan babbles on about the trip nonsensically with Yixing nodding supportively at his side, as Zitao sits and wonders how on earth he was put in this situation. Sure, he was trying to help Baekhyun, something he was going to take up with the little pixie-like male the moment he got the chance to. 

 

His train of thought about potentially demanding payment from the eyeliner wearing diva was cut short when he spotted Kris walking back over with his corndog in hand, and damn it if it wasn't the closest thing Zitao was getting to softcore . Only Kris Wu could turn greasy, disgusting cafeteria food into something attractive and Tao could feel the flush rising to his face.

 

"Ooh, Tao's blushing!" Luhan calls as the tallest of the group once again takes his seat. "Maybe he saw Jongin~"

 

"I told you I don't like him!"